80 years of Suske and Wiske (1945): Forever young

On Sunday, March 30, 2025, the Suske and Wiske comic series will turn eighty years old. And new books are still being released. Yet young people no longer seem interested. “They only pay attention to flashy screens,” says collector Peter Koole. Do you have these comics in your own bookcase, or are they read by your children? Do you have Suske and Wiske stamps in your collection?

Suske and Wiske

Suske and Wiske is a Belgian comic series created by Willy Vandersteen, who in the beginning also developed and drew all the stories entirely himself. Later, the comic series was continued successively by Paul Geerts, Marc Verhaegen, the duo Luc Morjaeu (since replaced by Wout Schoonis), and Peter Van Gucht of Studio Vandersteen. It is one of the most popular comic series in Flanders and one of the Belgian comics that has also become very popular in the Netherlands. The series has been running since 1945, making it the longest-running comic series in the Benelux. See the list of Suske and Wiske stories for all Suske and Wiske albums.

The stories were initially published in De Nieuwe Standaard (1945–1947), and later in De Standaard (from 1947), before appearing as albums. Subsequently, they were also pre-published in various other Flemish and Dutch newspapers. From 1948, they also appeared in the comic magazine Kuifje. The stories have always been primarily humorous in nature, often accompanied by a moralizing undertone. Sometimes, a more or less topical social theme takes center stage. In addition, various elements from (Flemish and Dutch) folklore, well-known fairy tales, folk stories, history, and mythology often form the starting point for an adventure.  

Early years

Vandersteen began the first sketches for the story Rikki en Wiske in the winter of 1944-45. He presented these sketches to two directors of the Standaard Boekhandel, who forwarded part of the story to the editors of De Nieuwe Standaard. Publisher Tony Herbert then decided to publish the story. The very first installment appeared on March 30, 1945. The adventures of Rikki and Wiske in De Nieuwe Standaard. Aunt Sidonia, Wiske, and Wiske's older brother Rikki appeared in this story. The story was released as an album in stores in 1946, but sales were not initially booming; after two years, no more than 7000 copies had been sold.

On December 19, 1945, the first Suske and Wiske story featuring Suske, *Op het eiland Amoras*, began in the newspaper. This story was published in January 1947 as the first album in the so-called Flemish uncolored series and sold well immediately. From March 8, 1946, the series also appeared in the Netherlands in the newspaper *De Stem*. The first episode of *Le Singe Volant* (The Flying Monkey) had just appeared in the final issue of *Le Petit Monde* in 1947. Here, Suske and Wiske are called *Riri et Miette* (later they came to be known as “Bob et Bobette”). It was their first appearance in French.  

Rising popularity

The Suske en Wiske stories soon became extremely popular. Vandersteen peppered his stories with humor that ranged from absurd jokes to running gags, and from puns to joke-book-style jokes. Sometimes jokes were also quoted verbatim. Particularly in the early years of the strip, Vandersteen regularly referenced current events, a formula that naturally worked perfectly in newspapers at the time, but which quickly became dated once the stories were published in album form. For this reason, topical humor quickly disappeared from the series, although the strip has always maintained a strong socio-critical undertone.

(The first edition of 'Op het Eiland Amoras', one of Willy Vandersteen's most iconic comics, was sold on the auction site Catawiki (2019) for 13.100 euros. 'It is the highest price ever paid for a Suske en Wiske album. The previous record was 9.000 euros. The album dates from 1947 and is part of the first print run, of which only 5.000 copies were printed.) Another important factor in the success of the Suske en Wiske series was Vandersteen's storytelling talent. He managed to devise atmospheric, imaginative, exciting, and mysterious plots of very diverse origins (see also #Sources of Inspiration). He was also able to make extensive use of cliffhangers thanks to the way the comic appeared in newspapers. Several stories from the period when Vandersteen himself was most involved with the comic strip (40s-50s) have become true classics, such as *Het eiland Amoras*, *De vliegende aap*, *De zwarte madam*, *De stalen bloempot*, *De ringelingschat*, and *De dolle musketiers*.  

Main characters

Suzy – A distant descendant of Sus Antigoon, whose real name is François. Wiske also occasionally calls him Fransiscus. He originally lived on the island of Amoras, but Aunt Sidonia adopted him into her family. Upon his introduction in the comic, he is a scantily clad brute who flies into a rage whenever someone shouts “Seefhoek forward” (in later reprints of *Het eiland Amoras*, this was changed to “Antigoon forward” to appeal to a broader audience than the Antwerp working-class neighborhood in particular). In almost all other stories, he is an average boy without a colorful character. However, he is brave, idealistic, loyal, usually intelligent, and also quite strong. He falls in love easily, and due to his generally balanced character, he easily attracts the attention of women and girls. Wiske manages to touch his gingerbread heart practically every time. Deleted – A girl whose real name is Louise. She is raised by her aunt Sidonia; who her parents are or what happened to them is never made clear in the stories. Wiske is intelligent, but also curious, jealous, stubborn, impulsive, and sometimes vain. Yet, when necessary, she can set these flaws aside and show her good heart. Due to the shape of her head (especially with her hair tied up with the characteristic bow), she is sometimes ridiculed with the insult 'eierkop' (egg head) and variations thereof. Aunt Sidonia – Wiske’s aunt, who in many stories plays more or less the supporting role of adoptive mother to both Suske and Wiske, but sometimes (particularly in the older stories) also plays a very active part herself. She is a tall, thin woman who can hold her own in emergency situations. Nevertheless, it sometimes becomes too much for her and she suffers nervous breakdowns. In some stories, she seems to be secretly in love with Lambik and usually admits it openly, such as in *De sterrenplukkers*. She often receives mocking remarks about her large feet and her abnormally long nose, or her hyper-slim figure and rock-hard hair. Lambic – He was once hired as a detective by Professor Barabas and has remained one of the main characters ever since. Lambik usually provides the funniest moments in the comic. In the Netherlands, he was initially called Lambiek. Vandersteen initially gave him the name Pukkel. The name Lambik is derived from lambic beer. Lambik is easily absent-minded, enjoys drinking a glass too many, and likes to cast himself as the leader. In some stories, however, he behaves significantly more maturely and sometimes even heroically. With the arrival of Jerom, his own flaws and clumsiness surfaced, as did the envy of Jerom's strength and attractiveness. He is balding, except for six strands (three on each side, just behind his ear), which also often gives rise to the same kind of mockery as with Sidonia. Lambik realizes that he is quite high up in Sidonia's estimation and that there is often grounds for advances. Lambik, however, almost never responds to this; only in *Parel in de Lotusbloem* did the word 'marry' come out of his mouth with great difficulty, but this had no consequences because Sidonia was unconscious at the time. The fact that he usually does not respond to Sidonia's advances often has hurtful or painful consequences. A well-known catchphrase of his is “miljaar”. Jerom – An incredibly strong man who always helps others out of trouble in difficult situations thanks to his strength. He originally comes from prehistoric times, but was frozen until he was thawed out in the 17th century by Duke Le Handru.[g] In his debut story The Mad Musketeers, he is one of the enemies of Suske, Wiske, Lambik, and Sidonia. After being converted to good by Wiske, he is taken to the 20th century. In the Netherlands, Jerom used to be called Jeroen or Jeroentje. In various stories, including The Mad Marrowbone and The Clever Slacker, more is revealed about Jerom's history. For instance, he was initially a weak, scrawny slacker who, through the intervention of his mother, Moe Mie, and a shaman, is magically transformed into the muscular powerhouse and man of few words as he is known today. Besides his obvious physical strength, Jerom possesses quite a few other abilities: for instance, he can make light shine from his eyes (when he opens them), but he can also project X-rays with them. He can run super-fast, jump very high and very far, lift himself by his feet with his own hands, open cans, split sticks, and so on. He enjoys drinking boiling lead, likes eating iron, eats 40 eggs a day, and when he wants coffee, he puts a spoonful of coffee into the full sugar bowl. Nevertheless, beneath all those muscles lies a very small heart, as evidenced by the tenderness and care for Schanulleke, and the courtesy he usually displays towards Sidonia and other women. His sentences consist only of the essential words. (Since the debut of Suske and Wiske in 1945 in De Nieuwe Standaard, the adventurous duo has captured children's hearts all over the world. bpost is highlighting the centenary of the legendary comic artist with five commemorative sheets, each adorned with ten new stamps. The print run is limited to 1.500 copies to guarantee the exclusive nature of this product. Philanews 2013/3). Professor Barabbas – A scholar whose remarkable inventions play an important role in many stories. His most famous and most used invention is the time machine. He is a genius, but also, almost stereotypically, easily distracted, and sometimes very idealistic to the point of naivety.

Schanulleke – A rag doll that Wiske loves dearly. Initially, she was called Schalulleke in Belgium and Schabolleke in the Netherlands. She received her current name in *The Sleeping Beauty*. In most stories, she is merely a prop, or at most plays a key role as a (suffering) object. In some stories, however, she comes to life and is then a real character; sometimes even as an antagonist, as in *Bibbergoud*.

 

Special edition 80 years of Suske and Wiske (Oudenbosch)

In honor of the anniversary year, a special reissue of *De Vliegende Klomp* is being released, featuring a beautiful new cover centering on the Basilica! With every purchase of the album, a contribution will be donated to the Stichting Behoud Basiliek: €1 per album sold, and even €3,30 when you buy the album in the Basilica shop. Do you want to be the first to get your hands on the special anniversary album *De Vliegende Klomp*? Then come to the Suske en Wiske Fan Day on April 13 at Sporthal De Beuk in Oudenbosch. In addition to fun activities, there will be a special auction with unique items, including a large print of Suske en Wiske in Oudenbosch. You can bid online via www.fameuzefanclub.nl. The entire proceeds will be donated by the Fameuze Fanclub to the Stichting Behoud Basiliek. After April 13, the albums will be available for purchase in the Basilica shop, among other places. Don't miss out and support the Basilica with your purchase. Oudenbosch celebrates its 750th anniversary in 2025! A special occasion to honor the rich history together, celebrate the present, and look forward to the future. With music, culture, and sports, we celebrate the diversity and connectedness of the community.

<strong> More info: </strong>

Suske en Wiske 80 Expo, 'A studio of heroes', MoCA Noordwijk, until 22 February 2026: https://www.museumofcomicart.nl/tentoonstellingen/suske-en-wiske-80.-a-studio-of-heroes Comic book market Strip aan Zee, in front of and inside the MoCA Noordwijk, Sunday, July 27, 2025: https://www.museumofcomicart.nl/actueel/agenda Suske and Wiske Fanclub: https://www.fameuzefanclub.nl/ Suske and Wiske Fan Day, April 13, 2025 in Oudenbosch: https://www.fameuzefanclub.nl/actueel/agenda/suske-en-wiske-fandag-2025/2025-04-13 Suske and Wiske The Perfect Podcast: https://www.deperfectepodcast.nl/ Best Suske en Wiske album ever: https://www.deperfectepodcast.nl/suske-en-wiske-nieuws/wat-zijn-de-leukste-suske-en-wiskes-ooit/#more-4379 Suske and Wiske on the WWW: https://suskeenwiske.ophetwww.net/ Suske and Wiske Shop: https://www.suskeenwiskeshop.com/ KNM, 80 years of collection: https://www.knm.nl/80-jaar-suske-en-wiske-collectie List of Suske and Wiske stories: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lijst_van_verhalen_van_Suske_en_Wiske Celebrate 750 years of Oudenbosch in 2025 coinciding with the Suske and Wiske Fan Day on April 13: https://www.visithalderberge.com/vier-750-jaar-oudenbosch/